Our History

In 1967 many members of the Miranda School of Arts theatre troop were dissatisfied with the management of the group which was virtually run by one man. A Company meeting was held in October of that year and a new society was formed with the idea of presenting musicals to suit the people belonging to the society while welcoming new members. The atmosphere was to be that of a large happy family with many social events to be enjoyed by all.

Using draft constitutions of other societies and trying to improve these where possible Laurel Gee, Alan Mundy and George Rixon drew up a constitution, accepted unanimously by the members. Miranda Musical Society was born. The Miranda School of Arts donated a starting capital of $80.

The inaugural management committee of Miranda Musical Society was elected:
President - George Rixon
Secretary - Laurel Gee
Treasurer - Shirley Oberg
Publicity - Bernard Broughton
Social Secretary - Darryl Francis
Members representatives - Sandra Cook and Don Loveday

The first rehearsal hall was the Miranda School of Arts but that building was demolished to make way for the Colonial State Bank. The second hall was at the Sylvania Soccer Club where the society worked under difficult conditions with the principles rehearsing in the kitchen at the same time as the chorus practiced in the main body of the hall. The third hall the Como School of Arts was affectionately known as the "fleapit" but after many years of use the termites ate their way through the building. The society took up a temporary home in the Oyster Bay Community Hall until the new Como School of Arts hall was built. This is now the official home of the Miranda Musical Society.

Shows were staged at Port Hacking High School auditorium at Miranda and ticket prices started at $1.00 for adults and 40 cents for children. This hall was used until 1986 when renovations closed the venue for several months. Forced to move on Miranda Musical Society found a new home at the Sutherland Entertainment Centre where many successful shows have been staged.In the early days the accent was for the group to have fun as well as present shows. The social committees worked hard organising family events including car trials, theatre parties, picnics, pool parties and crazy hat nights that were enjoyed by all. With the hectic pace of modern day living these social events are no longer held.

Cover of our first program in 1968

Only three shows have ever been stopped during an actual performance. In March 1970 South Pacific was halted due to torrential rain on the tin roof which made it impossible for the audience to hear, in fact the cast were unable to hear each other on stage. Once the storm passed over the show was restarted from the beginning to the delight of the theatre goers. The second time was on advice from the police when a bomb hoax emptied the hall, once the all clear was given there was not an empty seat in the house. Our third was during our 2017 production of Wicked, in which a smoke detector malfunctioned and called the ever prompt fire brigade to the venue, the performance resumed after the evacuation of a full house.

Miranda Musical Society often staged amateur premières of unknown musicals sometimes with great box-office success at other times they were not so successful. In 1993 Miranda Musical Society presented the NSW amateur première of Les Miserables, dress circle tickets were $25.00 and every show was sold out. This was the most successful show ever presented. In June 1999 Miranda Musical Society staged the world amateur première of The World goes round.Staging two major productions each year in March and September MMS has managed to add a successful mid year show since 1996. When fires tore Sutherland Shire apart in 1994 MMS made donations to the fire brigade, Como West public school for a new piano and to other charitable organisations.

We are proud of the legacy many foundation members have provided us with such as Alan Mundy who began as director in 1967, creating unforgettable productions until as recent as 2009.

Miranda Musical Society was incorporated in 1991.

*Adapted from a speech by Anne Petre-Black December 2000. Re-worded by Nancy Hardie 2005. 

MIRANDA MUSICAL SOCIETY LIFE MEMBERS

Laurel Gee, Brian Brown, Stan Brown, Neil Last, Elaine Last, Roseann McDonald, Brian Harvey, Marj Mundy, Karen Moseley, Val Nicholson, Doug Nicholson, Marilyn Broadhurst, Anne Petre-Black, Rhonda Hewitt, Coralie Broadhurst, Wendy Brown, David Glance
 
Honorary Life Members
 
Alan Mundy, Barbara Glance, Jim Anderson